eaton



(No Model.)

B. P. EATON.

Seed-Dropper. I

Patented Sept. 14,1880.

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N. PETERS. PHOTO-UTROGRAPHEIL WASHINGTON D C BENJAMIN F. EATON, OF COXSAOKIE, NEW YORK.

SEED-DROPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 232,177, dated September 14, 1880. Application filed March 23, 1380. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. EATON, of the town of OoXsackie, in the county of Greene and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Dropping Seeds, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an apparatus for dropping seeds by hand, in which there is employed a dro pingwheel having in one of its sides one or more seed-cups made with a conical form of side walls and gage-stoppers for increasing or lessening the capacity of said cups, which wheel is pivoted so as to be turned to carry the seed-cup to or from an opening made in the side of the reservoir holding seeds by means of a cord and draw-rod operating in one direction and a tension-spring operating in the opposite direction.

The object of my invention is to produce a means by which the number of seeds" to be dropped maybe regulated and the seeds in the reservoir will be prevented from becoming packed therein, and will be discharged laterally from the same into a conical-sided cup made in the side of the dropping-wheel, and be discharged therefrom in an obliquely-horizontal manner at the will of the operator. 1 attain these objects by the mechanism and devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention. Fi 2 .is a horizontal sectional view, and Fig. 3 is a view of the operating parts as viewed from its rear side.

In the drawings, A represents a reservoir for holding a quantity of seed, which reservoir is preferably made of sheet tin or iron or other equivalent thin material, and is provided'at its upper end with a cover or lid, a, for closing the same, and at the other end with a bottom, 1), (shown by full lines, or by 11, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.) The lower portion of the metal which forms said reservoir is extended below bottom I), to serve as a bracket for holding the spindle of the dropping-wheel, and also to steady the said wheel.

Passing through the extension A of said reservoir, and secured with the same, is the spindle c.

B is the seed-dropping wheel, made with a circular form, of sheet metal, and with a diameter of three (3) inches, or more or less, accordin g to the number of seed-cups the said wheel is to carry, and is made with a depth of one (1) inch, more or less, as may be selected. The said wheel is provided with seed-cups 0, one or more, made in the side of the wheel facing the reservoir A. The said seed-cups are each made in their side walls, 6 e, in the form of a truncated cone, as shown in Fig. 2. The said seed-cups terminate at the parallel walls a of the gage-stopper opening 8, so that each of said seed-cups and their respective gage-stopper openings will form a perforation through the dropping-wheel B,as shown.

Made in the lower end of reservoir A, and at the bottom of the same, is the opening d, facing the dropping-wheel B, and having a diameter equal to the diameter of the end opening of the largest seed-cup O. The droppin g-wheel B is placed on spindle c, and freely revolves on the same, and is secured from slipping off the same by any of the well-known methods.

D is a gage'stopper, made preferably of cork, and fitting tightly in the gage-stopper openings, as shown. The gage-stopper is capable of being set so as to project more or less into the seed-cup C from its smallest end, as indicated by full and dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Secured to the sides of the dropping-wheel B, next to the reservoir A, are one or more stopping-pins, x, which check the movement of the dropping-wheel when revolved in direction of arrow in Fig. 3 by striking against the extension A, as indicated by dotted lines 00 in the same figure, and when moved back by striking said extension, as at full lines 00.

Partially encircling the periphery of dropping-wheel B is strap E, secured to a suitable projection or eye, F, attached to said wheel, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The opposite end of said strap is attached to one end of the tension-spring G, which spring is connected to the upper end of the reservoir A by hook f, secured to a side of said reservoir, as shownin Figs. 1 and 2.

Connected in a flexible or jointed manner to eye F is the draw-rod H, the upper end of which is guided by loop or eye h, attached to the reservoir, as shown in Fig. 1. Apull-cord,

i, is attached to draw-rod H and leads to the hand of the operator.

Secured to the reservoir are bands k, which terminate with loops 0 0 at the upper side of said reservoir. Jointed with said loops 0 0 are clamping-plates p p, the upper ends of which are drawn together by a finger-screw, r, or screw and nut.

The manner in which the several parts of this apparatus operate is as follows: The apparatus having been secured to a hoe-handle or other handle, and the dropping-wheel hav: ing been set with one of its seed-cups O opposite the passage-way or opening din the reservoir, with the gage-stopper D inserted in opening 8, so as to project into the said seedcup to a greater or less distance, according to the number of seeds to be dropped at each operation of the wheel, the reservoir is then to be filled with seed, when the device is in order for operation. The operator will grasp the handle H with his hands, and with the pull-cord i, held by a finger of one hand, he will give a quick pull on said cord at each time he lowers the dropping-wheel to near the point on the ground where the seed is to be depos ited. The pull on said cord will cause the draw-rod to impart to the dropping-wheel a movement in direction of arrow in Fig. 3, and cause the said wheel to revolve and carry the seed-cup O to dotted lines 0, Fig. 3. The gage-stopper D having been so set as to give to said seed-cup a definite capacity for holding a definite number of equal-sized seeds, the said seed-cup, when carried from opening (I in the reservoir to position of dotted line C, will carry with it from said reservoir the determined number of seeds to be dropped and discharge the same in the hill. The conical form of the seed-cup causes the seeds to move freely and positively from said cup when it is carried in its major portion below the lower side of the extension A of vthe reservoir. When the operator has operated the dropping-wheel through the pull-cord and draw-rod to effect a deposit of the seed he will move his hand holding the pull-cord quickly forward, when spring Gr, through strap IE, will draw on eye F, made with the dropping-wheel, and thereby cause the said wheel to turn back until checked by the pin 00, when the seed-cup will be again brought facing opening at in the reservoir, to be refilled for another discharge.

When the apparatus is attached to a hoe the operator may drop the seed by the operation above described, and also cover the same without consuming much, if any, more time than would be required for covering in the usual manner when another drops the seed.

It will be readily observed that my device is at once light in weight, simple in construction, and not expensive, while its operating parts are calculated to effect positive operations with seed for the uniform deposit of seeds, and also that by the gage-stoppers the capacity of the seed-cup may be readily increased or diminished, so as to carry from the reservoir a given number of seeds before determined to be dropped in each hill, while the seed-cup will not, in the least, be apt to become clogged or make chance deposit of seeds.

It will be readily seen that the diameter of the dropping-wheel may be increased so as to contain a greater number of seed-cups, each of a different diameter, and for operation of different-sized seeds.

I am aware that seed-droppers having a reservoir for the seed and dropping-wheels with devices for giving motion to the same to carry the seeds from the reservoirare old. I do not therefore claim, broadly, those features.

Havin g described m y invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a hand seed-planter, the combination, with -a seed-reservoir, A, provided with side opening, d, and the dropping-wheel B, pivoted to the discharge side of said reservoir and provided with a conical form of seed-cup, 0, made in the side thereof opposite said side opening,and having a gage-stopper, D, adapted to be adjusted from the outer side of said droppin g-wheel, of the draw-rod H, pull-cord i, and tension-sprin g G, all constructed and arranged for opera-tion substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

BENJAMIN F. EATON.

Witnesses:

OHARLEs SELKIRK, Trros. O. MURRAY. 

